Highly collimated monoenergetic target-surface electron acceleration in near-critical-density plasmas

Abstract

Optimized-quality monoenergetic target surface electron beams at MeV level with low normalized emittance (0.03π mm mrad) and high charge (30 pC) per shot have been obtained from 3 TW laser-solid interactions at a grazing incidence. The 2-Dimension particle-in-cell simulations suggest that electrons are wake-field accelerated in a large-scale, near-critical-density preplasma. It reveals that a bubble-like structure as an accelerating cavity appears in the near-critical-density plasma region and travels along the target surface. A bunch of electrons are pinched transversely and accelerated longitudinally by the wake field in the bubble. The outstanding normalized emittance and monochromaticity of such highly collimated surface electron beams could make it an ideal beam for fast ignition or may serve as an injector in traditional accelerators.